Miltiary Watches Thread

This is my new purchase: Marathon general purpose mechanical watch (GPM) in stainless steel with the GTLS tritium light tubes and sports a Swiss Eta 2801-2 movement without date ring and uses a wind up function. 42 h power reserve and a 28800 beat/h movement. Watch has government markings and also features a 3mm thick sapphire crystal with underside anti reflective coating and also, since marathon is a contracted watch manufacturer of military watches from around the world, has a nato stock number and is manufactured to current us military watch procurement requirements which has categories such as shock survivability, magnetic field resistance, water resistance and precision.

Overall I love this watch. Owned it for about a week now and the winding action every morning gives me a boner. I love the tritium pips they are VERY legible at night and are brighter then luminox trit from what I hear. I highly recommend this watch. I snagged mine at 420 on sale from 650 retail.

I have this. I'm not a faggot who spends multiple hundreds of dollars on watches that no one but other faggots would appreciate, but for $45 it's pretty aesthetic. All the brown people at work compliment it.

All the brown people at work compliment it.1. I thought niggers like bright flashy things?2. Can niggers read the time on an analog watch face? Considering how many children struggle with the task I can see how many niggers would struggle as they are rather child like mentally.

11 months ago

Anthony Davis

No one "struggles" with analog watches. Analog watches are supposed to take a moment to read. That's part of their whole appeal.

11 months ago

Noah Martinez

They weren't regular niggers. One is a sandnigger, the others are Samoans.You have that backwards.

I wear a Casio F-91W jkjk, I wear a Citizen AT0200-05E, which is not a real military watch either.

A real military watch is very large to the point it almost looks like a womens watch. It has incredibly powerful radon light source, and it has a flip case so it can be covered and the light of the radon not give away your position. There is no watch on the civilian market to my knowledge which would be bought by any self respecting military as an issue watch.

Best we can get is civilian watches SOLD and marketed as "outdoors" or malninja tech. Keyword is ruggedized watch. It means a normal device that was made more rugged to withstand construction work, or outdoors work, or military work. Expect a markup. For example a normal laptop that costs $500 would cost $10,000 if it was ruggedized properly. Needs to be waterproof, fireproof, and impact proof. But watches are easier to ruggedize, so the markup isn't so huge.

Second best, but also good, is the category of field watches. These are very close to what militaries field, just without the addons. It's very simplistic and nice looking. Some examples are Electric FW01 Nato which is an excellent field watch and cheap enough to buy for all your friends, and Luminox 1827 very classy and also can be worn as a dress watch.

11 months ago

Jackson Campbell

Ah sorry you made the joke before me and I didn't see.

Anyway here are some real military watches in picture.

#1 is a classic, and properly done. The leather cover has shock protection, it keeps light from getting out, and rain/dust from getting in.#2 is a modern version that is also properly done. Notice how on both the cover is on a metal snap, so it can be opened and closed quietly. Same features as above.

#3 is a shitty example of this. The cover doesn't offer any impact protection, it doesn't fully stop light from getting out, and it offers no protection from elements. It's also on a fucking velcro which on a quiet morning can be heard two hundred meters away.

These tbh.I got a Casio AW90H.I prefer analog over digital, simply because you can use the hands of the clock and the sun to figure out where north is.I also used analog since I was a child, so maybe it's baby duck syndrome.Nobody needs covers, just wear long sleeves. If you get into a situation where the over would have actually saved the clock, then your wrist is probably fucked up anyways and you have more serious problems than knowing what time it is.The super dim illumination is not going to be enough to reveal your position in any situation, unless the enemy is standing less than 5 meters away from you, in which case you could have simply pulled down your fucking sleeves like regulation says, you fucking dipshit.

11 months ago

Dylan Thomas

You don't have to literally compress a watch into a penny in order to destroy its usefulness.

take your $400 watch into a fightdo a simple roll on sand or granular rockfront scratched up to the point where hands are invisibleReal smart.

11 months ago

Parker Miller

Haha youre a fucking knob. My bad if you don't appreciate mechanical things. I bet you drive some shitty boring car to go along with your shitty boring watch.

Here's some REAL watches. Enjoy your shitty timex homage watch.

First one- Alpina KriegsMarine 710 reissue. Look how sexy this birch is OMFGAlso bonus points for alpina being edgy and reissuing a watch they issued to the Nazis during ww2. This is my next dream watch purchase.

LOL that's what either hesalite or sapphire is for. Sapphire won't scratch but will break, hesalite will scratch but wont break and is easy to polish after. If you scratch your hesalite to the point you cant read it AT ALL you have some SERIOUS issues lol.

The watch is so important militaristically that I'm shocked I don't see any "military history/present military watches thread"

First off you can get the watch for cheaper, as its not that popular, secondly you pay for the watches longetivity (for life if serviced) and you also pay for the level of finishing done and also the regulation of the watch. Pretty good deal to me.

$1500 watchNigger do you recognize the fact that the military refuses to replace a $500 rifle with a $600 rifle with three times the performance. This is a rifle, literally the most important tool of a soldier, and you're trying to present a watch that costs more than a used sedan as a viable fucking replacement.

Just stop. Your opinion is incorrect.

11 months ago

Gabriel Wilson

I like my nite watch, it's strong without being too heavy and it's radioactive.

Whatever man honestly I just recently also bought a 98 GTI vr6 in 5spd standard for 4 grand. Do I think a rolex explorer is worth 6 grand? No. Do I think that alpina is worth 1500? Yes. Its all about what you find desirable. Horology has a rich history and buying a swiss mechanical watch from a few centuries old company makes me feel good for some reason. Especially when my watch keeps consistently plus 5 a day and has been just a PLEASURE to own. Get rekt you troglodite

I have nothing against that and honestly admire that kind of hobby. My own hobby is philately with around 23,000 preserved pieces.

…. but it's got nothing to do with military watches that a common 8ch user has access to…

11 months ago

Jackson Bennett

using watchesnot using the tried and true sundialLook at these plebs and laugh.but to take it up a stepnot creating a tulpa who keeps track of time for younot practicing evocation and having a high level diety keep your team organized through acausal methods

I find this watch interesting, but it's only good for 3 atmospheres (meaning you shouldn't swim with it, which really sucks tbqh) and the band is nylon (which is plastic and thus bad for test; for military applications, this is a low priority, but for daily wear it's a valid concern.. you could probably change it though idk). $200

https://www.watchmann.com/proddetail.php?prod=Marathon-WW194004

11 months ago

Ayden Taylor

this version is 8 bucks more and has the date, that's much better, wouldn't want to lose track of the date when you're innawoods

I had to replace the original watch strap. It was falling apart and was in terrible condition. So I put a newer leather one. It’s fully mechanical so it has to be wound around twice daily. Very nice to wear

This is the most military watch in this thread. These things are standard issue once you leave BMT along with a Mustang and a short-term marriage.

11 months ago

Brandon Moore

We have IDs here you dumb fuck. Go back to your shithole.

11 months ago

Nathaniel Barnes

What's your favorite military inspired watches Zig Forums?Mostly diver related ones, a few field style stuff but mostly divers.and is manufactured to current us military watch procurement requirements which has categories such as shock survivability, magnetic field resistance, water resistance and precision. Look mang, I fucking love automatic divers and I would probably never sell my modest collection of now discontinued Seiko divers. I like Marathon and if I had the extra dosh, I'd buy one of their auto divers in a heartbeat. That said, Marathons do not make the watches out of unobtainium or anything. Most modern quartz at say a Casio G-Shock levels basically has all those requirement plus it's more economical vs an auto. IIRC the bongs have a Citizen Eco Drive dive watch for one of their official branch, the Italians might have another eco drive too.

The days of Rolex subs and Panerais being used as a main issue watch are largely over, G-Shocks and Suuntos seems to be much more common. It's not unheard of to hear someone taking an auto to the field, one guy in a watch forum swore by his Seiko SKX007 through 2 tours in the sandbox. But it's a minority case these days.

Anyhow, if you're a homologist you can rub your dicks together no homo here:/time/index.html

thread critically lacks amfibiasHere, currently rocking an older version of pic related. I don't have the numbered bezel but the dot ones instead. It is quite tough tbh but it always has to be said, for an auto. And the accuracy is +- 60 sec a day. A fucking day. Mine is within that vodka spec but honestly. For most practical things, I'd go solar quartz.

I used to have that watch, and I did dive with it (only about 10 m though). Was nice, but dropped it in the bathroom once and the hands all came off their pin, and the mechanism seemed fucked. Moved on to other watches.

Also, why do watches these days have these unnecessary elements?

arabic numbers because too dumb to read roman numeralswhy even bother with anything besides a dot for each hour and two dots for noonthose weird interval markings around the periphery because too dumb to memorize a timethe useless 10 second inner dials like in OP's

Why don't people make more minimal designs? Most minimal watches I've seen are all the tiny glitzy women's ones. I've seen very few men's watches that are minimal and look good, none that were priced reasonably.

11 months ago

Cameron Wood

Fuck minimalism tbh, that shit's been taken to an unreasonable extreme and spawns a lot of shitty hipster designs. Roman numerals are cool though, I'd like them in my watch.

arabic numbers because too dumb to read roman numeralswhy even bother with anything besides a dot for each hour and two dots for noonthose weird interval markings around the periphery because too dumb to memorize a timethe useless 10 second inner dials like in OP'sBecause a watch has more uses than just telling time…

11 months ago

Cooper Fisher

those weird interval markings around the periphery because too dumb to memorize a timeYou mean a tachyometer? Because that's not for telling time at all.

11 months ago

Adrian Edwards

Yeah, your pic is retarded. Clearly meant for fashion and not to actually tell the time. By "minimalist" I meant straightforward design without gimmicks or unnecessary elements. Here's some I found from an image search (no pics on tor, sorry):

To be sure I don't think these are great watches, they just illustrate my point of not cluttering the face with gimmicky, "just for show" dials and gauges. I'm not against all extra features also, for instance a sunset/sunrise gauge, day/month, moon phase, etc. if you actually use those frequently, but it seems silly to have 100 m sprint timers when you don't do any sprinting or have some rotating ring to mark time intervals when it's easier to just remember a time.

for instance has three whole dials dedicated to a chronograph (if I'm reading the manual right). I happen to have a job where I often need to time actions with second precision - it's always easier to just look at the normal second hand of my watch than use the chronograph. In theory the chronograph on this watch can measure down to 50 ms, but in my experience it's hard to even click a mouse with less than 0.5 sec precision, and pushing watch knobs is even slower. So if you really need sub-second precision, I suppose the chronograph is justified, although your measurements will have huge error so the precision is mostly wasted. And how often do you really need to measure things that precisely? Many times I've set up devices that required sub-second precision to operate, but I've always used a specialized apparatus for timing rather than relying on my own reaction time, which would have been far too unreliable and inaccurate. Obviously my own experience is limited, though, so perhaps I'm missing some significant application of this 50 ms precision chronograph, but the marketing of 99% of these watches seems to regard it as just a gimmick nobody will actually use.

Or for example, (again not to knock it but just to illustrate the point): Why have a whole separate seconds dial when you can just put the second hand in the main dial where the markings are much easier to distinguish? What purpose does this serve except to clutter up the display and make the seconds hand less useful? Maybe some people like the aesthetic but to me it seems like a watch meant to look good to people who don't understand how watches work.

If you look at the Амфибия, the rotating bezel is just the same 0-60 subdivisions that are already present on the watch face, and hence are superfluous. But ignoring that, what indeed is the utility of a tachyometer? A whole mechanical computer just to do a division you can easily do in your head, or on paper? A memory aid that can only store one variable? If you really need to do calculation that often, you would carry a dedicated mechanical calculator like a small plastic slide rule or precalculated table. And if memory is an issue the better solution is a notebook and pen which can store any number of values and also aids in calculation.

Yes, but you wouldn't want a swiss army knife of a watch. Each feature should be balanced in terms of how likely you are to use it, how well it works compared to a dedicated tool and how much space it takes on the watch. Besides actually telling time, I would love to see some watch functions that actually work well and are useful in your actual life, not "just in case" of some contrived scenario like being shipwrecked on a deserted island. Closest thing I've heard is basically an astrolabe, which (assuming you know how to use it) allows you to navigate and determine the season without access to electronics, which is still a bit contrived but at least clearly useful in an SHTF context (or if innawoods and too cheap to get a proper GPS device).

11 months ago

Isaiah Allen

I've had this watch for the last four years and it's been great. Now I'm heading to basic and just wondering if any of you know whether it should be rugged enough for whatever I'm supposed to be doing as an infantryman. I mean, I've smashed it on concrete once or twice and nothing's gotten fucked except for some paint around the bezel I threw the band out as soon as I got it and rotate a few different leather straps instead but I imaging it would be scratched to hell as well so I think it's fairly tough, but still, do any of you have experience with how these Citizen watches hold up?

Citizen Ecodrives are usually pretty good in general, their promaster and ISO certified divers (the promasters seems to be blurring between divers and what used to be their skyhawk\nighthawk lines) have good reviews and track records. That one is not to my personal taste but the spec list of sapphire and 200 wr is pretty good. But!going to basicI'll tell you the same thing when another user asked similar question. Leave that nice watch at home in a safe place, get a cheap (preferably under a hundred bux) and tough and easily replaceable and obtained, so a casio or timex, something rugged functional and cheap enough you won't cry over if it gets smashed scratched or stolen. Besides actually telling time, I would love to see some watch functions that actually work well and are useful in your actual life, not "just in case" of some contrived scenario like being shipwrecked on a deserted island.I use the divers timing bezel on a daily basis to time my work breaks. :*) Technically I know that compass trick with using an analog dial and the sun but fuck it in actual real life I never found that method to be reliable, an actual compass would be a lot better to have.I used to have that watch, and I did dive with it (only about 10 m though). Was nice, but dropped it in the bathroom once and the hands all came off their pin, and the mechanism seemed fucked. Moved on to other watches.I use and still use that vostok amphibia but never abuse it, it's holding up so far but from what I've seen it can be a bit of a specimen lottery.

11 months ago

Nathan White

What would you recommend for a tough military watch that's also fashionable? Preferably with a metal band.

11 months ago

Chase Butler

There is a lot of watches that fit that description. Just get this one. Its my fave

Damasko da863

Read up on it. Has a lot of integrated neat mechanical things that makes the watch hella bulletproof/shock and magnetic resistant. Only problem is normal charge up lume. I like tritium.

its water resistant to 5 atm. u can wash your hands with it and go in water but don't go to deep.

"The normal atmospheric pressure at sea level is 1 ATM (short for Atmosphere) or 1 bar. The seal in a watch rated for 5 ATM can withstand being submerge under normal swiming conditions which doesn’t go beyond the depth of 40m or 130ft. "

doesn't it pinch your arm?Only if you're a retard. The strap of leather bands creases with use and can eventually break, and it flaps around. Metal has neither of these problems and looks objectively better.

10 months ago

Ayden Anderson

he doesnt know how to take care of leatherand hes the retard?

10 months ago

Carter Baker

tbh I like this guy's posting style and unrepentant watch autism. also nice deal on the gti, I hope it doesnt fall apart on you coolthe rotating bezel is just the same 0-60 subdivisions that are already present on the watch face, and hence are superfluous. to my knowledge, thats for elapsed time so you move it to when you start diving and use it to see how long youve been under.

10 months ago

Robert Hill

Seiko military.

Cheap as fuck.Built like a tank.Put a NATO strap on it and you're golden.

I don't read cyrillic or russian but that squiggly marks on top is the same on my amphibia. What I am guessing reads as "amphibia". Though mine does also say 200 m, "31 kamehb" presumably meaning the water resistance rating, and amount of jewels. Or maybe just 31 kebabs removed.

Is Vostok considered the best/most reliable of the Russian field watches? If so, what model, the Komandirskie? Looking to get into horology, and I figure I'd want my field watch to be russkie.

10 months ago

Asher Hall

Is Vostok considered the best/most reliable of the Russian field watches? Best? I wouldn't say that exactly, and I have an amphibia that I fucking love. Reliable enough and cheap enough for an auto, sure. It has an acrylic crystal so it picks up scratches easy but it also buffs out easy with a toothpaste. And replacement \ spare parts are cheap. The problem is Vostok's accuracy, it can be +- 30-60 seconds a day. Even for a mechanical, that is kinda shit accuracy.If so, what model, the Komandirskie? I think there are two different types there is the Komandirskie which is cheaper and has less water resistance, and the KOMANDISKIE which is 100m water resistance and some of the models has a funky 24 hour scale.Looking to get into horology, and I figure I'd want my field watch to be russkie.If you want to get into horology and you just want a vostok, that's fine. If you want a more accurate and functional field watch you are far better off with a Casio analog quartz or solar quartz, a Casio G Shock with or without solar, a Timex. If you want or can spend a bit more but get a lot more for your money, you can look at Citizen Eco Drive(their fancypants name for solar but Citizen makes good solar watches) field or divers, a Seiko 5 field auto pic related SNZG09 \ SNZG09K1, or a Seiko SKX diver like the 007/009/013.

I use my vostok amphibia in industrial and rough conditions that I would not subject my nicer watches too, but I also have to change it's time daily since it goes about a minute fast. That's what is considered 'acceptable' spec by ruskie vostok standard. If you don't want to deal with that, honestly mang consider other options instead. The vostok has a cult following for a reason, but accuracy is not one of them.

There's some Seiko solar field watches as well in the 150 dollar range or so that are good contenders vs Citizen's eco drive. Or the kinetic quartz if that floats your boat. If you got your heart set on a vostok go for it, they're affordable and interesting enough but just know the accuracy will not be their strong point.

9 months ago

Aaron Nguyen

If you want a more accurate and functional field watch you are far better off with a Casio analog quartz or solar quartz, a Casio G Shock with or without solar, a Timex.Bitch I know that, I wore a Casio Pathfinder as my everyday for several years. I just want a nice repertoire of automatics to wear, because I like to appreciate the labor, care, and precision required to make one. And while quartz is tempting for practical reasons, appeal of automatics + appeal for sksvshit + muh heritage is pushing me towards Vostok and the rest. The Amphibia is looking nicer to me than the Komandirskie at the moment, because I was doing some reading on the unique way the designers dealt with pressure, with the seal becoming tighter the deeper you went. Might end up picking up a Quartz down the line as well, we'll see.

I just want a nice repertoire of automatics to wear, because I like to appreciate the labor, care, and precision required to make one.Then take a look at the jap's auto. You can not go wrong with Citizen, Orient, and Seiko. Or even some microbrands that uses a miyota (Citizen) or SII\NH(Seiko) movement in them. Orient in particular offers pretty good bang for the buck if you look at their Makos and Rays. Not ISO rated 'true' divers but close enough for most people. ISO rated for a solar or rechargeable quartz imo is not that important as long as it's water resistant enough, but for autos it can matter a bit more. I have not scuba dived yet but having an ISO auto dive watch has other uses besides diving, due to the specs it has to pass to get that rating.

The Amphibia is looking nicer to me than the KomandirskieUnless things have changed lately at the vostok factory, Amphibias > Komandirskie. Granted I never had a komandirskie but the reviews from owners I've seen are meh. Most would recommend to just go for the Amphibias instead, or the Komandinski if you are hankering for a 24 hour scale dial.

Butt really tho. I have an amphibia that just won't quit short of cracking it with a sledge hammer. But it's a dog that has to go for a shit and scoop every day when it comes to accuracy and updating it to accurate enough time. In contrast I have an SKX iso rated diver, that uses what the industry now considers pretty old automatic movement 7s26, an old and feature poor movement by today but still reliable workhorse. It's not considered high accuracy but that SKX keeps good enough time that so far it only gains a minute or two maybe per week at most.

If you are fine with the possibility of having to update the vostok to the correct enough time on a daily basis, go for it. They have a coelacanth like charm to them and it's affordable enough to try at least one.I already listed the cons of owning a vostok. Yet a second amphibia might be waiting for me in the next month.

9 months ago

Grayson Morales

Any advantage of Zenitar over Meranom? Can always look at both, just curious.Not that I know of, either or may or may not have some models that the other does not at different times. Both have good reviews from watch nerds. I got my amphibia from Zenitar iirc.

9 months ago

Colton Murphy

and Seiko.With a proviso, a lot of the newer line Seikos for me are getting a bit too expensive for what they are offering. They used to be the king for 200-300$ automatics especially auto ISO divers. (still true for the SKX thankfully) Recently a lot of their price have doubled on most lines but their specs are not noticeably upgraded. IMO once you get into the mid 300s, 4-500$ range, you can and should look at other options besides a Seiko.

9 months ago

Lincoln Wood

unlike most of you fags, i am an actual veteran. fyi: only new recruits wear watches, because our drill instructors made us all buy dumb g-shocks. those things suck, they get snagged on shit all the time and they rub the skin off your wrist after a whileregular enlistees use their phone to tell time. only motards and boots (new guys) wear watches.

9 months ago

Ethan Davis

i'll add to that, "high and tight" haircuts are also only for boots and motards

A wild cloud appearsdifferent latitudesdifferent times of yearA watch is just a little more convenient than carrying an almanac for every region not to mention classier.

9 months ago

Adrian Perez

not living underground

9 months ago

Daniel Watson

hesaliteAre there any watches besides the Omega Speedy that use hesalite? Can you buy aftermarket hesalite crystals?

Also, are there any good watch+compass combos besides the Casio Pathfinder?

9 months ago

Easton Martin

You can still tell the location of the sun through clouds, only very heavy cover obscures it completely. You can also develop a sort of sixth sense for it after a while as well, where you instinctively know where the sun is approximately (based on internal clock and light levels I suppose).

9 months ago

Josiah Price

You can still tell the location of the sun through clouds, only very heavy cover obscures it completelyAt least in my area, full cover of stratus clouds is a pretty common occurrence, which especially when you're outdoors really screws with your ability to 'guess' the time. And even if you know the rough time of day, watches are still useful for measuring elapsed time, coordinating with other people, telling the time during twilight, and a whole host of other things.

9 months ago

Gavin Murphy

Are there any watches besides the Omega Speedy that use hesalite? A whole lot if you look past Omega's term for acrylic. Pretty sure my casio illuminator from walmart and the amphibia uses acrylic.Can you buy aftermarket hesalite crystals?Unless it's a hard to find weird custom shape, watch parts catalog and sometimes even watch stores jewelers can sell them to you, so yes.<but omega uses a proprietary blend for their hesaliteHonestly mang, most of that shit is marketing speak. For most people they would not see much practical difference between acrylic plexi and hesalite. Polycarbonate vs acrylic maybe, but otherwise hesalite and acrylic might as well be the same thing.shsilver.com/watch-blog/2015/5/21/exploring-different-types-of-watch-crystalsPlastic crystals are often referred to as Plexiglas, acrylic or hesalite. Plastic is the least expensive option and is most commonly found on lower-priced wristwatches. Plastic will not shatter or crack, but it does scratch easily. These crystals are sometimes preferred in the field because of their shatter-resistant qualities.

9 months ago

Liam Gray

Hesalite is acrylicI suspected that, thanks for confirming. You on /time/index.html at all, perchance? Some fag linked to it earlier in the thread but it seems to be a stillborn at the moment.

9 months ago

Caleb Ross

I lurk there, unfortunately it's a bit of a ghost town at the moment.

9 months ago

Jonathan Morales

That's my watch stand. I only use it because I don't want to mar the finish of my Colt Commander Gold Cup National Match.

9 months ago

Robert Carter

Because while downrange a cell phone will never suffer from 120°+ heat in a cockpit, succumb to massive humidity emanating from a human body in a 120°+ cockpit, fail while fording a wadi during torrential flooding, burn through a 100% charge in 18 minutes searching for a non-existent signal, suffer a ruptured battery, allow hadji to locate you because you suck at "settings," detonate an IED because you suck at settings, transmit all manner of intel to hadji because you suck at settings… I could go on all night, but my advice is, wear a good, dependable, accurate self winder down range, it very well could save your life. A cell phone, not so much.

I take my cell hiking so it gets exposed to most of those, and it really isn't a big deal. Not to say it's a good idea to rely on a cell phone for these things, but it's not going to spontaneously combust just because your fat ass broke a sweat.

The only valid complaint is transmitting intel. That does sound like a big problem, I don't understand why the military, being in control of base towers on base and generally through alphabet soups, doesn't just track down all sources of insecure connections on a base and then order those soldiers to fix their shit.

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